Inspiration Strikes
by Babsy-chan
Summary: He was told once? Twice? Thrice? He lost count already as to how many times his sister had said that she's wrong for him. He never understood, until after a thousand years; but even then, he still didn't quite agree with the queen. KIDS, STAY OUT!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** What am I doing with a new story? I'm trying to go back to writing that is.. I want to finish my stories, but a lot of heavy stuff happened in my life. This will span very few chapters only, cause this will be like a conditioning exercise only. I still don't own Sailormoon. Please review as always

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Shingo have always had a fascination with his sister's best friends. He never admitted this to her though, it's simply not in his character. Him and Usagi had always been about teasing and getting under each other's skins. If he is being honest, to him, Minako has always been so beautiful and full of life; Rei seems to be so spirited and mysterious; Makoto was everyone's "to-lean-on-shoulder"; and Ami…

Ami is, and has always been, the nicest to him. Maybe Minako was every guy's dream girl; Rei was every guy's fantasy; and Makoto's gift is simply every guy's desire; but he longs for the simplest and brightest of them. Okay, granted, she had crushed his heart; but that doesn't take away the fact that she is very sweet and very caring and very responsible and very intelligent and… Yes, all the traits in a superlative degree and he almost said innocent, but then had to remind himself that it was back _then_ , when she wasn't yet one of the earth's rulers. He doubted very much now if he had disillusioned himself of her innocence, because his sister had warned him (for the first time of so many) to not pursue her when he asked her back then for help.

He was in his second to the last year of senior high school when he decided that he's old enough to be pursuing a woman. Heck, as far as he knows, his sister has a boyfriend as early as her junior high years; and, she just seems to have matured greatly that he decided to approach her about _her_ , the girl of his dreams, the girl that he had saved a few years back.

After all, she is his sister's best friend, right? His sister would be thrilled, right? Usagi would definitely support him, right? He was thinking as he took to the hallway leading him to his sister's new home.

Wrong

"Don't Shingo..." Usagi had started and she was very much still Usagi Tsukino-Chiba then and not Her Majesty; fiddling with the hem of her skirt and seemingly finding the right words.

So of course he was stubborn, and would never listen to her wisdom unlike nowadays, but he let her say her line.

"I'm not saying that she's not a good woman or that I don't want her for a sister in law or that I have anything against her; because she probably captured a lot of hearts without even consciously trying..."

"So it's about me?" He asked a bit irritated, cutting his sister off.

"Of course not!" Usagi hurriedly answered wide-eyed that he seemed to had blamed himself because of her words. "It's her Shingo... I know Ami... She..." She scratched her head and her eyebrows met; an obvious outward sign that she really was trying to mince her words. "She and the girls are... well... very bonded together... You could say that..."

He didn't see the point and simply rolled his eyes at his elder sibling. "Never mind, just don't tell her I asked you if I can court her." And he walked off and exited the apartment of his brother-in-law, not even getting a single hint as to how to 'turn the tides' in his favor. He can't grasp what his sister's point was, as far as he knows, Ami Mizuno was single and ready to mingle.

During that time, his sister's four best friends were all living together already; thanks to the fame and fortune of the then idol, Ms. Aino. So at least, he knows where to start.

He fixed himself one more time before knocking on the door of the girls' apartment and hid the bouquet behind his back. A familiar face opened the door for him but one that was unexpected: Haruka Tenoh. He couldn't remember the name back then but knew that 'he' wasn't a he but a she.

"Good e-evening, is... A... Ami-san home?" He asked and stuttered a bit due to the unexpectedness of who answered his knock. From his sister's profiling of her friends, he knew that this Haruka was not a good omen when trying to date one of the girls.

"Yeah, in the shower." She answered and let him in and led him to the sofa. He saw that she eyed the bouquet he was holding and then smirked before making his presence known. "You got a suitor, oh I mean a visitor Ami-chan!" She sing-songed before disappearing to the room that he knows was Ami's.

That was confusing to him, but forgot everything else because at that instant, Ami came out of the shower, wrapped only in a towel. He blushed and looked away instantly, but the image of damp and milky white skin remained in his head.

He looked up again when he heard a room door open, thinking that she had exited safely to her room; but no, she was still there and the door opened because Haruka came out of Ami's room but with Michiru in tow. A Michiru dressed in only a huge shirt that appears to be Makoto's size. "You done cleaning?" She asked Ami teasingly while batting her eyelashes. Ami nodded shyly and blushed furiously.

"Thank you snowflake..." Michiru threw a passing look at him before pressing a kiss to her cheek and heading to the bathroom.

Haruka patted Ami's head afterwards. "Go and dress up, someone else needs you." And then, she pointed at him.

That was the only time he could remember that she had looked at him eye to eye and blushed. She couldn't even greet him and seemed to be caught like a deer on headlights. Looking back now, what he saw then was very mild compared to what he had just witnessed; and yet, it was then that she had blushed.

The spell was broken however by Haruka when she kissed Ami's other cheek, the one not kissed by Michiru. She leaned in to her and whispered something; Shingo didn't hear but saw that it had made Ami color even more and run to her room.

The tomboy had laughed out loud heartily afterwards and shook her head. She even followed with her eyes the running woman and smiled affectionately.

What happened next threw Shingo totally off guard. The main door banged open and in came Makoto with two guys. Both had long and brown hairs; one was straight and held in a low ponytail while one was wavy and flowing freely on his back. He knew at least one of them, for he was a famous face too: Kou Taiki of the Star Lights.

"Oy Haruka!" Makoto had greeted, sounding a bit annoyed. "And here we were thinking that Ami-chan was late because of her books again!"

The called woman chuckled. "Nope, not me, it was Michiru." She smiled and waved in his general direction. "And she'll be a bit more late."

Makoto looked at Shingo and raised both eyebrows wonderingly.

"Shingo-kun! How are you? What brings you here?" She asked one after the other while placing her bag on the kitchen counter and fetching him a glass of water. This she placed in front of him.

He was about to answer but had to blink because there was a bright flash of light that rendered him temporarily blind. It smelled of rose petals suddenly too.

"You cheater!" He heard the idol holler and pound on Ami's door.

To his surprise, it wasn't Ami who opened her room access but a blonde guy (Just how many people can fit in that room? He was wondering). "If I were you Kou-chan, I wouldn't bother us in here! I'm trying to make our muse look presentable, okay?" He answered flirtingly before closing the door to the tall guy.

"Fine…" Taiki grumbled. "But make sure she wears the dress _I_ bought." He followed.

The other brunette guy laughed with the whole exchange. "One point for Earth." He said to the idol patting him on the back.

"Neph, be nice?" Makoto admonished.

"Kids…" She mumbled and he saw her roll her eyes before focusing on him again. "So what brings you here?" She asked again cheerfully.

"Well… I came for…" He stuttered again, getting confused at all that was happening. "What was that bright light?" He asked.

"Ah… that…" Makoto scratched her head, very obviously thinking up of an excuse. Of course, he didn't know it back then; but he knows for certain looking back now. "Power fluctuation…" She replied unconvincingly. "So what brings you here?" She asked again, a little too excitedly.

"Are you and Ami-chan going out?" He asked instead; concluding that if the girls were going out, then they'd all be annoyed at him now if he proposed.

Makoto nodded. "Yeah, we all are. Hey! Even Usagi-chan will be there, want to come?"

He debated with himself, but before he could give his answer, Ami came out of her room wearing what looks like a body hugging dress in midnight blue hue. She was also wearing high-heeled Spartan type sandals to match her outfit.

"Tadaaa!" The blonde guy said proudly, holding her hand and presenting her to Kou Taiki.

The idol smiled. "Good job Zoi." He had said before wrapping an arm around Ami who giggled at the antics of the two guys.

"Ah, ah, ah…" The guy called Zoi shook his head slowly, looking at the arm around Ami. "My hard work and you're reaping all the product?"

To Shingo's surprise, it was Taiki who pulled Zoi closer and wrapped said man's arm on Ami's waist also. "Your hard work, my dress, so we share?" He gave a smile and Ami pulled both of them closer to her, and getting on her tip-toes, looked about to be gifting them with a kiss each.

Makoto cleared her throat audibly and tilted her head towards him, reminding the other girl of his presence. Once again, Ami blushed and let go of the two guys.

"Hey…" She greeted, approaching him and gifting him a smile. "What brings you here Shingo-kun? Ruka-chan said you were looking for me?"

He reached at his back and gave the bouquet of blue roses to her. "I… well…" He scratched his head when she reached for the flowers and blushed a bit. "Wanted help on my Advanced Number Theory…" He reached for the glass of water after telling his excuse and gulped it all down in one go.

"Ow… Of course…" Ami had somehow looked confused but took the flowers and placed them on a vase. She came back after a while and took the space on the sofa next to him. "But you see, Kou-chan here just came back from… well, a long while… So… We're all going out since it's a Friday night…"

"I see…" He acted as if to stand up and leave but she grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"You can come back tomorrow though, and every Saturday after and I'll tutor you, but party with us tonight." She had invited and smiled the smile that made him weak kneed and freeze on the spot and nod his head.

For the life of him, he would never understand why he said yes that night. He shouldn't have, it only confused him and shattered his perfect image of her (well, it shattered his image to her also). He would never understand why she has that great of an effect on him. He's not even legal aged yet to drink alcohol or drive. He wasn't even supposed to ever be inside a high-class bar and sitting beside his brother in law and his group of friends. He was never asked for identification though, for apparently, Ms. Aino was a VIP in the club.

"What are you doing here?" Usagi had shouted at him because of the blaring drum beats and melody.

"They invited me." He shouted back succinctly, pointing at Makoto and Ami. He was saved from further poking from his sister though when Seiya had pulled at her through her waist. Usagi bit her lip but she didn't seem surprised at all to be handled like that by a guy who isn't her husband.

Time passed and he still was simply sitting down and watching them all dance and drink and dance and drink while sipping on bottles of beer the entire few hours that they've been there. There are a total of five girls and eleven guys including himself; a ratio he can't help himself notice and speak of: two guys for each girl, including his own sister who keeps dancing with both Mamoru and Seiya. Minako was obviously with the two silver-haired guys; Rei was with a short haired blonde guy and a guy he knew to be working at their temple; Makoto was with the other brunette and Motoki; and his Ami, was in the arms of the two guys who were fighting for her attention earlier in their apartment.

He watched as they all were obviously doing something more than 'dancing' and he can't help but wonder if it was the alcohol or they're really like this when in the presence of the world that doesn't know them. The Ami Mizuno he saw in that bar was very far from the Ami Mizuno that he had always looked up to. Anyway, all the girls and guys were acting different from how he knew them all.

To his surprise, she plopped on the nearest chair beside him suddenly. "Won't you be joining the dance floor?" She had asked him and extended an arm as if inviting.

He stared wide-eyed at her hand and debated with himself as to what kind of dance he should be doing with her. Should he act like the other guys around her? Is he allowed?

However, before he could take it and take her on her offer, blonde tresses showered over it as Minako sat herself on Ami's lap, hiking her dress up, effectively taking her attention away from him. "Hey, no sitting down! You've been too busy all week already and you were late!" She whined at her while reaching for a cherry sitting on the cake on their table. She placed this on her lips, partly biting it.

"I have a guest." Ami answered and tilted her head towards him.

The pop star looked at his direction and then smiled before taking all the cherry with the stem in her mouth. "I'll let you go, but tie this first." She told Ami while pouting.

To his surprise (again, well, the whole night was full of surprises, he thought), Ami smirked at the blonde before pulling her head to herself and dipped her mouth to her lips. They looked to be locked in a passionate kiss for a while and Shingo can't help but feel like he was watching something akin to porn.

But it wasn't porn as they parted for air and both girls laughed. Ami reached into her mouth and took out the now tied cherry stem and disposed of it in the ash tray.

"Bou bidn't hab to fweeze by tongue bou know…" Minako was saying, sounding gibberish.

Ami tilted her head while laughing heartily but affectionately at the blonde. "Your fault, you wouldn't stop moving." She replied and smiled.

Minako scrunched up her nose, obviously disagreeing with whatever Ami did to her and left then calling for Rei. He followed with his eyes the woman to the dance floor and saw that Minako had grabbed Rei for a kiss also. Whowwww… He remarked in his head.

He didn't see that Ami was watching his every reaction. He didn't know that she was gauging him. He didn't know yet then that he had failed miserably in her eyes with his actions and reactions. He was excusable of course, since he was just a kid then even if he considered himself old enough.

Ami had left him alone at their table after seeing him entranced with Minako's and Rei's kiss. She joined the others and continued to party, leaving him no room for her time.

Morning came, at least, that's what he remembers, and he has a terrible headache and he obviously was lying down on a couch judging by the way his head was tilted and the way his left foot was dangling. He overhead voices so he shut his eyes tighter, not that they were ready to open anyway. The smell of strong coffee wafted towards him.

"Morning snowflake…" A voice that he recognized as Makoto's greeted to the footsteps approaching.

"Morning Mako-chan…" That's Ami, he was sure. He'd recognize the voice even in a stadium.

He heard a kitchen stool being pulled and he heard the sound of liquid being poured to a mug.

"Bacon? Ham? Spam? Pig or Turkey?" Makoto asked. "There're toasts in the oven. I placed them there to keep them warm."

He heard the stool move again and something that smells delicious was making a sizzling sound.

"You seem still energized… Was I too easy to handle?"

He was confused with that question and tried his hardest to see who really were talking. He blinked several times and saw that it really were Makoto and Ami.

Ami has her arms around Makoto's waist while the taller woman was busy with preparing a feast for breakfast it seems. She flipped the pan to empty out the bacons to a plate before turning the stove's knob off. She turned around to face her friend and removed her apron. "Now that, is a blatant lie. And you know that very well…" Makoto bent down and kissed the shorter woman in the lips. Ami reached up and placed her palm on the other woman's neck, and responded tenderly to Makoto's ministrations.

They stayed like that a while and only parted when a door opened and revealed Rei. "Hello you two… I suppose all the terrans have hangovers again?" She asked, seeing that no one else was there and walked towards the kitchen.

Both of them nodded.

Rei pecked a kiss first on both of them before grabbing her own cup and settled down on a stool also. The other two followed her and seated themselves after placing all the cooked foods on the counter they were surrounding.

"Kinmoukians hold their liquors worse than terrans…" Rei was saying, or rather complaining, in between mouthfuls.

Ami grinned as well as Makoto. "Don't we know that?" The brunette threw a meaningful glance at Rei.

Rei laughed. "So Ami-chan landed beside you instead?"

No one answered but Rei laughed again, so Shingo supposed the answer was positive. "Those two were spoiling you so much last night only for them to sleep on it."

Even Makoto snorted with that, although he doesn't find anything particularly funny.

"I bet Yui-chan had the time of his life again last night." Ami interjected, and that was when he realized that the two were making fun of her two guys. "With Mina-chan and you…" Her tone was leveled, but it was obvious that she was teasing.

"Of course, you'd control his alcohol intake just to make sure." Makoto added, and now it's Rei's turn to be the topic. "And you can't deny anything from your best friend…"

On and on their bantering and gossip went. Listening to their chatter, he realized that he really was still young – no, inexperienced then; for he found their topic very uncomfortable for him. Minako, from what he heard, was still asleep in the arms of two guys. His sister, apparently is still asleep also, and he doubts very much if she was alone. Funny how he could find out a lot of things just by pretending to be asleep; these guys are lawyers, doctors, engineers, writers, and idols. He was a mere student, what fight does he have? He couldn't even afford that obviously expensive dress Ami was wearing last night, he was thinking. He sighed internally, accepting his defeat for now. He will be back though, when he's got the position and money already.


	2. Chapter 2

True to her word, Ami asked Shingo to come by the following Saturday. It was a shock to him the first time she called to confirm if he's coming for his tutorial lessons, but he acceded just so he can know her better.

So every weekend saw Shingo in the girls' apartment sitting by the kitchen counter with a math book, a pen, and some scratch papers in hand. It increased his grades dramatically, and when his teachers inquired, a name drop of Mizuno Ami earned him to their good graces; a testament to him of her personality that many knew of: the shy genius. Unlike with the name association to his elder sister, the name Mizuno Ami gains favors for him.

Him and Ami spent at least four hours a day discussing infinity patterns, matrixes, and whatnots that were mostly too advanced for the other occupants of the apartment anyway; unless of course, when the guys were there. For some unknown reason, all the guys around the girls seem to be extra smart. Or know-it-alls, he'd phrase it like that for his own consumption.

During those moments with her, Shingo can't help but feel that that's the Ami he knew most about. The one that rolls off equations in her tongue like it's some common information or simple stock knowledge. She's always hiding behind a book while she waits for him to finish the exercise problems; sometimes it's academics related like her medicine books, but other times, it's something he was sure was not from any common bookstore basing on the rune-like writing in the front.

Sometimes, they would be joined by a girl in his class, Tomoe Hotaru, who happened to be the girls' common friend. As to how they became friends, their explanations were differing to totally vague. He left it at that during that time, but looking back now, a thousand years later, the explanation came. A lot of things came to him a thousand years later actually, making him think that he must be "slow".

Anyway, it was during one of those times that Ami was so engrossed in a 'Rune Book' and Hotaru was sitting opposite him that he blurted out the question that had been bugging his head ever since that weekend at the bar.

"Ami-san… Do you have a boyfriend?" He had asked, not really thinking, since he was so engrossed in watching her while she was so engrossed also, in her 'Rune Book'. She didn't notice that he was done with homework, since she was so captured by something in that thick and dusty and alien-looking tome.

She raised both of her eyebrows questioningly, probably reviewing for herself the question in her head. She grinned in his direction after, before closing the huge volume and removing her eyeglasses. "What, to you, is a boyfriend?" She had asked instead of answered.

She was too much for him to handle, he realized as he blushed a bit, became self-conscious and he scratched the back of his head. "Ah well… Some guy that a girl dates exclusively?" He hazarded.

"Hmmm… Exclusive…" She nodded to herself. "What do you mean by exclusive?" She inquired further.

"Well…" He didn't know why she didn't just answer with yes or no. It was a fairly simple question.

Ami opened the 'Rune Book' once more but not to ignore him, she showed a page to Hotaru, passed the tome to her, and then turned to him again with her full attention, waiting for his answer.

He looked everywhere except at her inquiring blue eyes. He saw that Hotaru had blushed at the page that Ami showed her, and wondered briefly how they both can read alien language. He saw from afar that that book contains nothing but symbols and diagrams that don't looked to belong to any known language on Earth. His mind however, returned to his task at hand: defining 'exclusive'.

"Exclusive is like… Well… Usagi and Mamoru-san…" He answered, using the very people around them as answers rather than going in-depth about definitions; for he was fairly sure he'd go nowhere when in that field with her.

Hotaru chuckled, whether with his answer or something she read, he wasn't sure, for she was staring at him. "Star Fighter?" She looked at Ami grinning and questioning apparently, but Shingo didn't even have an inkling as to what they were laughing about.

"Sshhhh…" Ami answered Hotaru with a glimmer of playfulness in her eyes.

"I mean, they're dating each other constantly for several years now. And they're seeing no one else and they're married." He furthered, trying to make a valid point.

Ami nodded, trying to consider his definition of a boyfriend. "Then by your own description Shingo-kun, no, I don't have a boyfriend." She smiled sweetly, before tugging the book away from Hotaru to the protest of the other girl. Or at least, it looked that way.

"Why do they have to write that in a history book?" Hotaru complained to Ami like what she just read was something scandalous. "I mean, it's already Saturn's private life…" She puffed air out and blew away the strands of her hair that fell to her face.

"The relationship between Saturn and the inner court caused her to retaliate to the generals when she learned of their demise. I mean, they didn't just dropped dead after killing the goddesses, right? So the Mauan author's point was that, because Saturn was involved with Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, Serenity-sama was forced to hit the restart button when Saturn destroyed everything left rather than when her daughter killed herself over a Terran." The bluenette answered, sounding like explaining something of great importance when all she said didn't even make a single sense to Shingo.

The boy in their midst blinked. "What?" He asked to the two ladies who already almost forgot his presence.

"Just some storybook we found in an old library…" Hotaru shrugged. "The kind that won't get you anywhere when trying to woo a woman…" She added as an afterthought before jumping off of her stool to get some snacks in the fridge.

Shingo blushed darkly. He didn't know that he was obvious; he didn't know that _her_ friends know! Judging by the poker face she was wearing, he didn't know that _she_ knew also.

* * *

"Hey, Taru-chan!" He called and ran to catch up to her before she disappears again after their classes.

The called girl looked over her shoulder, and when she spotted him, slowed down to let him catch up. "Hey…" She greeted with a smile when he finally was in stride with her. "What's up?"

He inhaled sharply to get his bearing after running. "Will you accompany me for some hot cocoa? My treat!" He offered.

"This is about Ami-chan, isn't it?" She asked knowingly.

"Well…" He stammered and felt embarrassed.

She laughed a little before nodding. "I want the minty one topped with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and caramel syrup." She said before skipping ahead to the café that's just across the street from their school.

His eyes went round like saucers when he saw the shop she went into.

When Shingo entered the café, he felt the temperature swell instantly and the scent of cocoa and baked bread gave the little shop a homey feel, especially for lovers. It was a known fact to all the students (except maybe to Hotaru); a girl and a guy sipping chocolate or coffee there together must be dating or interested in dating each other. He had to keep his head down then, to avoid bumping into any of his friends who might get wrong ideas about him and Tomoe-san. Because of that though, he missed her booth.

"Shingo-kun!" She called loudly at him, making him turn and realize that he had gone three booths down the hallway away from her.

"Oy!" The guy sitting with a girl in the nearest booth to him greeted.

Of all people to see him in a lover's place with Tomoe-san, it has to be a guy that teases him non-stop in class, and one that knows them both, he was thinking.

"I didn't know you're into Ms. Weird chick." He smirked at him.

"She's not weird." He monotoned icily at the guy before taking the steps toward Hotaru and then took the seat directly beside her.

"Stupid guy!" He growled under his breath, but it was loud enough for his company to hear.

When he looked up to her, he saw that she was giggling like an adolescent appreciated for the first time by the opposite sex.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

She took time to compose herself. "You." She answered succinctly, but elaborated with his facial reaction. "You don't like people calling me weird because I am Ami-chan's friend, and if I am weird, then she is also weird."

"It's not that…" He cut her off but she silenced him by holding his hand.

"I don't mind being weird, Shingo-kun." She smiled affectionately, like they're really close friends. "And I bet, Usagi-chan and Ami-chan feels the same. We are different, different from everyone else, and that technically would label us as peculiar."

"Different, how?" He asked.

To his surprise, she pulled him in and kissed him in the mouth. A kiss that wasn't entirely friendly but not too romantic either. A while into the kiss, his hands possessed a life of their own and one travelled to the back of her head to pull her in closer and one rested on her love handle.

A cough made them stop and turn to where it came from. It was a server, and after placing their orders, their eyes locked.

"How do you feel about that?" It was Hotaru who broke the silence.

"What was…?" He was stunned, and confused, and reeling from a simple kiss.

"How do you feel about the kiss?" She repeated and somehow rephrased the question in case he didn't understand.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I…" He gulped, unsure of his answer. His insides were making him feel funny all over, like he was being pulled by an invisible force to get more from the girl that had just kissed him even if he was known to be courting one of her closest friends.

He sighed in relief when their server went back and their orders arrived. Shingo instantly picked up his cold coffee and sipped a mouthful.

"I'm pretty sure you want more; and I'm not trying to flatter myself. Ami-chan must have pecked a kiss on you some time before, and I'm not saying that you're desiring her only because of that." The dark-haired girl started to explain, which didn't help, cause it only confused him even more.

"What are you trying to say?" His confusion gave way to his temper rising. "Are you trying to play with me?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm merely saying, that you must have adored Ami-chan even before she pecked a kiss on you. You were already drawn, but the kiss sealed your fate. You would be chasing after her, and you won't be able to help yourself."

"Taru-chan…" He took in a lungful of air. "Why do you always speak in a mystery? What was that kiss for?"

"I am trying to pull you away from her gravity." She answered. "But not too much so as to ensnare you."

"What?" He sounded alarmed.

"Calm down Shingo-kun…" She tried soothing him. "I told you we're different. The law of gravity states that a more massive object will always draw lesser masses towards themselves. Now take a massively cored person and another massively cored person and draw them close. They won't be able to help themselves but connect."

"I am in a special science class, I know the gravitational formula by heart." He cut her explanation. "What does that have to do with Ami-chan and you?"

She collected her things and stood up after finishing her drink. "I am trying to pull you just so you can be free. I don't want you damned." She said partingly before leaving him in his seat, every bit more confused.

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 **A/N:** I know it took me more than a week to update, sorry for that. I labeled this "M" also for a reason, and that'd be in the coming chapters. And for all of you waiting for me to update Unfounded Tomorrow, I'm happy to announce that yeah, I've started writing it again. hehe! Please review as always :-)


	3. Chapter 3

Nope, don't own Sailor Moon. Never will.

* * *

Almost a year had gone by, and even if the only time he spent with Ami was weekends, he can't help but be drawn more and more because he got to know her better; (he likes to think so anyway).

He found out that she likes sandwiches and pop music. He found out that she has read extensively all kinds of books. He found out that she has read also **all** of Rei's manga, (although she would deny such allegations). He found out that she's filthy rich, basing on all the genuine jewelry that Minako keeps borrowing from her, and basically doesn't need to work if she'd decide to slack off for the rest of her life. And yes, her mom and dad, though separated, both gave her a life fund that provides her with monthly allowance for the rest of her life.

He got to know also some deeper sides to her. He found out that she was insecure to her friends with regards to her face and body. He found out that she's got daddy issues that's why she didn't trust most men. And because of that topic of discussion about men, he found out from her friends chatting one time that her _first_ was a woman who got daddy issues also: Rei.

Ami had vehemently denied Makoto's teasing that her first guy was that junior high classmate who could foretell the future. Hotaru had whispered to him that her _first_ guy was actually that idol he saw several months back.

He found out also that he really was uncomfortable when the girls get to talking about their 'connections' to each other. That bit about Rei and Ami had shocked him so much when he found out that he wasn't able to sleep and think of nothing else that whole weekend. The sweet and shy and gentle Ami that he thought he had known was already very experienced upon entering high school. And by the time she had stepped on that stage to give her valedictory speech, she had already had her fair share of both sexes. Every one of them did.

She never looked and projected the type.

Japan is a very conservative country, and he'd be a hypocrite if he'd say that it was all okay to him. He was one of those people who had cheered her and clapped vigorously with each medal or trophy or plaque bestowed on her. He had looked up to her so very much that it somehow hurts that she's got a secret life behind closed doors.

The secrecy doesn't stop there though, there's a major topic that leads the girls to whispering way more than their love lives. It is unnerving him way back then, when they suddenly would just leave him in the apartment all alone; only to come back later with blood stains on their clothes. They all looked fine though, so he just accepted whatever excuse they came up with at the moment.

They would sometimes fight about it and they would sometimes cry about it. Whatever 'it' is, he didn't find out soon enough. It would lead to one or two of them not coming home sometimes also.

It was amazing though how Ami could still sit patiently with him during those times that she had a world-weary look. One time though, he was the one who refused to be taught, for she was sitting there, seemingly reading a medical textbook, but the tears flowing down her cheeks tells another story. He stood up and got a handkerchief and wiped the tears flowing.

She flung herself at him then and sobbed till she was shaking so bad and that his shirt was so soaked to his skin. "They took Mako-chan…" She was saying over and over. "Because she took the hit for me…" She cried and cried until it was all too much for her and she collapsed.

Oddly enough, no one came home to the apartment that night. He was tempted to watch over her but decided to just let her be after he placed her on her bed. He took to his sister's house afterwards and told her and Mamoru to watch over _her_ ; after all, Usagi and her husband seem to be in the loop, their puffy eyes were proof enough.

The next weekend, Rei called him to inform him that Ami wasn't home.

The weekend after, Minako told him that Ami and Rei and Makoto were on a vacation.

The next time he went to their apartment, no one answered his knock, and he went away to ask Usagi when her friends would be coming back; but he bumped into Hotaru instead on his way there.

She just came back from his sister's home, she shared, and they decided to take a walk together on the park. She has a haunted look on her face, and she seemed to have lacked several days of sleep. Her eyes were deep and her cheeks sunk even deeper into her frame.

"I'm sorry Shingo-kun…" She had started with an apology, looking across the stream that their bench was situated near with.

He looked at her, and there's a tugging at his heart with the way she looked. It was as if she had concluded to do something so drastic with her life.

"Whatever for?" He asked softly.

"I can't bring them back… Unless I end it all, I can't bring them back…" There were no tears in her eyes, but the absoluteness and dread in her voice shook him more.

"Taru-chan…" He held her chin so he could turn her gaze towards himself. "Ever since I've met you, I only understood only about a quarter of what you're saying. What's the matter?" He pried gently.

She pecked him a gentle kiss and broke it herself. "I am going to make sure they'll be reborn. I promise Shingo, they didn't die in vain. I am going to bring her back from the dead." She solemnly swore to him.

Her oath sent shivers down his spine. He had no idea what she was talking about but his mind clicked somehow. He has not seen Ami for over a month now; nor has Minako appeared in any of her shows.

"You mean?" He wants to be sure before he mourns. "How?" He asked; he doesn't get it, all the girls couldn't just have died naturally in a span of a month!

Hotaru stood up and walked away, not even leaving him a parting message this time.

* * *

Shingo was very nervous; he had searched the whole city and didn't find his sister and her husband. He prayed hard to the kami that they're not among the ones that were dead. There was global panic as some strange thing had ascended from the sky that the senshis were battling at that very instant. Electricity was cut-off and communication towers were flattened. There were fires raging at every corner as everyone concluded the same thing: this is Armageddon.

His car swerved to avoid a falling steel beam from a nearby tower, and he kicked on the gas pedal hard to accelerate to avoid any of the structure that must have been damaged by the ongoing fight. Fear gripped him even more when his car was buoyed up by a sudden wave of water that came at him from nowhere.

When the water receded, he found himself on the edge of the senshi's battlefield. They looked beaten up and there's only three of them left standing: Sailor Moon, a senshi clad in sea green, and a senshi who looked too familiar.

There was a bolt of dark energy sent the sea-green clad senshi's way, and then the woman fell to her knees, a shocked expression on her face and on her comrades', and a gaping hole right through her chest. "Princess…" She had reached out a hand to Sailor Moon before her body diffused into a brilliant display of white light.

"NEPTUNE!" Sailor Moon shouted and fell to her knees in mourning. "Michiru…" She sobbed, and something inside her seemed to have broken with the loss of her senshi. "No…" She sounded to be on the verge of giving up.

He was sure he heard it right. Sailor Moon had called the recently deceased as Michiru. It was then that he looked at the other remaining senshi.

And the familiarity clicked.

"Silence…" She was looking at their enemy coldly.

"Glaive…" The senshi raised her weapon way above her head.

Sailor Moon came to herself with the incantation that her senshi uttered. She panicked and hurriedly ran towards where her youngest warrior was. "Hotaru-chan NOOOO!"

"Surprise."

Sailor Moon didn't reach her in time. The senshi tilted her whole weapon downwards before she burst into a thousand drops of light while her attack seemed to have done nothing.

It seemed that way to him, but somehow, it seemed brighter.

"Taru-chan…" His heart felt heavy, and his eyes were stinging. He was far from dumb, and his mind raced back to the last thing she said: 'I promise Shingo, they didn't die in vain'. She ended it all.

When he looked up to Sailor Moon, she was holding something so bright in her hands and she seems to be chanting in an alien language.

And the world froze over. Literally.

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 **A/N:** This will have a happy ending, promise! please review as always.


	4. Chapter 4

He should have anticipated it the moment the engagement of Lady Venus and Lord Kunzite was announced all throughout the kingdom.

But he didn't.

Because of a lot of things.

First off, he woke up; his parents didn't; when her sister's friends even rose up from the dead. This left him a little bitter towards his sister; not that he'd voice it out to anyone, because apparently, some galactic alliance supports her queen-ship. And, it seems that majority of the population is happy with how things are run. There is little to no crimes at all, everyone is fed and clothed and housed, and everyone seems healthier. Besides, he knows now that his sister's friends are forever beings, so he really can't blame her for them coming back to life.

Secondly, Usagi. Because she isn't Usagi anymore! It frustrates Shingo so much that he lives in a darn palace! His sister is queen, his brother – in – law is king, and he is treated as a prince even if no one bestowed him any title, honor, or duty. He's got nothing to do in this modern day Ethiopian society that is run by his sister and her friends. And even if everyone is around him, he rarely gets the chance to talk to them. Even his niece is well-guarded.

Thirdly, the Senshis. He seems way unimportant compared to all the inhabitants of the Crystal Palace. If a palace servant leaves, some chores will be left undone. If he leaves, it wouldn't really affect anything or anyone, he thinks. And if one is talking about importance, no one is more important than the senshis; Lady Mercury, Lady Venus, Lady Mars, Lady Jupiter, Lady Saturn, Lady Uranus, and Lady Neptune. Nothing comes before and after the queen and the king that didn't pass the perusal of the senshis. No treaty or law or changes thereof can be passed or enacted without the approval of the senshis. Everyone and everything is under the senshis. They know everything. It is not an overstatement; the reincarnations of the girls that he used to know possess god-like abilities now. They can read minds, they can travel at speeds of light, they can create water and fire and lightning, they can disappear in one place and appear in another in a blink of an eye, and they can kill. He shivered when he remembered how they punished a man convicted of raping a young girl; he was sure no guy will wrongly handle a woman again after that.

Fourth and foremost, the Shittenou. They are Mamoru-san's body guards, or the kings of the earth. And as if they need to emphasize that point, they just had to chase after the senshi and be in a relationship with them. If there are people who are more powerful than the senshis even if they were lower in position, it's them guys; simply because, the senshis bend to their will. If Lord Jadeite says no, Lady Mars will say no. Shingo can't ever remember Rei-san so agreeable to anyone. If Lord Nephrite does so much as raise a disagreeing eyebrow, then Lady Jupiter will automatically vote against it.

Fifth, the aliens (that's what he calls them anyway), or the Ambassadors of Kinmouku. There are plenty aliens around them nowadays, what with the unified galactic alliance, and the inter-planetary relations. Whoever invented the thought that extra-terrestrials are green and weirdly shaped is sorely mistaken. As far as Shingo have seen, these aliens are either very handsome or very beautiful. But them Kinmoukians, just have to be both. Everyone knows now that they can be whatever they choose to be. And, they have to chase after the senshis too of course!

So those were his reasons why he was still surprised and shocked when the Palace Herald announced the engagement of Lord Zoicite and Lady Mercury. His Ami-chan is getting married. He didn't even get the chance to pursue her formally.

He paced measuredly along the hall in front of her chambers. He debated with himself if he should enter or not; but he has to talk to her; even if for the last time. She _knew_ , but never gave him a chance, and he has to find out why.

Shingo stepped inside the magic portal that sorts people based on their intents; and since he doesn't intend to do any harm to the inhabitant inside, he was not repelled.

The blue tinted crystal walls were sparkling, hinting to him that their illumination source is inside. An Olympic sized swimming pool greeted him first and the water seemed to possess a life of its own as it rippled across its vast surface. He walked the length of the side of the swimming pool and stopped right outside the silk curtain that separates her bedroom from the ante room containing the bath.

He raised an arm and parted the silken blinds as he took a brave step into her private chamber.

He froze with what he stepped into.

His eyes widened and his breath got caught in his throat.

Lady Mercury is sitting on the edge of her bed, and she looks like a goddess with her symbol flashing brightly on her forehead. She looks very alluring with the way her head is tilted while she bits into her lower lip. Shingo had never seen her that alive and that beautiful.

No, erase his first observation; she is sitting on Lord Zoicite; and, she is completely naked; but her most private part is hidden from his view because the tallest ambassador of Kinmouku is very much male that moment and he was partaking of her 'other' lips.

He gulped down the lump forming in his throat as he realized that he was watching something intimate between three people. Basing on the jerks of her body, her fiancé's member is buried in her behind. She was on the verge of ecstasy when Lord Zoicite reached for her face to take a heated kiss and swallow her moan. The brown-haired man stood up then and wiped the cum off his face and was obviously readying himself to take her in the front.

Lady Mercury noticed him first, followed by the general. She looked at him in the eye and that was when Shingo realized that she had changed forever. She's not the Ami he knows anymore but she's more of the reincarnated goddess her powers represent. She reached up a hand and made a gesture with her wrist and her fingers. An ice wall started to form from in front of his feet going upwards towards the ceiling. Before the barrier could cover entirely his view though, the general raised his hand toward him also; flower petals surrounded him as he felt his body flying through nothingness.

* * *

Shingo held his head again, as teleporting had made him very dizzy and unsteady.

"Here, let me help…" Someone had said and had touched his head. The touch felt warm and comforting. He blinked several times to clear his view.

"Hey…" He had greeted, when he realized where he was and who had touched him. "Lord Zoicite sent me here?" He asked Lady Saturn while she was busy pulling pillows to make him comfortable on her couch.

Hotaru shook her head no and sat beside him. "Are you feeling better?" with his nod, she continued. "Ami-chan sent you here. She asked me to explain to you."

"Ami-san?" He clarified. "But it was Lord Zoicite who sent me away."

The princess shrugged. "She asked him because she can't do it herself. She can read minds and send messages from afar you know."

He took in a lungful of air and exhaled slowly; the armrest of the couch suddenly seemed too interesting.

"She says sorry." She started again, breaking the silence.

"For?" He answered and asked at the same time.

"She cannot control anything in her life. She had pulled you in accidentally. She didn't mean to hurt you." Hotaru replied and touched his knee to make him look at her.

"How can she tell you that when she's out there doing it with two men? Don't make her look good now…" He grumbled and questioned the truthfulness of what she's saying.

"Shingo…" She reached up and turned his face towards herself when he refused to look at her still. "I know them; each and every single one of them. I've lived with them several lifetimes over and over. And what you're thinking about her is wrong."

He rolled his eyes, to show he was disagreeing.

"Look, she's not a slut. She's destined to marry Lord Zoicite in all her lifetimes; it keeps the balance of power intact. Now Star Maker, Ami-chan had fallen in love with her before the general was resurrected. So if you were her, what would you have done?" She asked.

"Don't tell me she doesn't love Lord Zoicite and just don't have a choice." He stated icily.

"I never said she doesn't!" Her voice hitched a little. "Of course Mercury-sama will always love the Lord of the Earth. They had killed each other, married each other, killed each other again, and married each other again and again. They've had offsprings in lives past. It's a vicious cycle and she's a part of it." She looked down as she added. "We all are… We have memories and feelings we don't want."

It was him who lifted her chin this time. "And all you girls, well, you know?" He asked.

"Yes." She looked hard at him. "It's a part of being a senshi. You have to be bonded to each other so you could feel each other even from afar. And that's the act that ties souls together. So yes, each and every one of us."

"But Lady Mars and Lady Jupiter have mortals… Mortals like me…" He added.

"We cannot choose who we fall for in every lifetime." She told him, before reaching up and pulling him in to meld their lips together.

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TBC...

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 **Author's Notes:** One more chapter to go before the happily-ever-after. yey! thanks for everyone who read and reviewed and followed. I know this is not one of my best, but I'm still trying to get back to writing. Please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Nope, I will never own Sailor Moon or any of its characters. This is the final chapter and this happened somewhere ten years after the last one.

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* * *

Prince Shingo decided to take a walk around the castle as it was such a beautiful sunny day where the birds can be heard singing their lungs out while the flowers try their best to attract the most insects through their brightly colored petals.

He cannot believe his luck as he was looking back to the past thousand years; he is finally free! He had chased a goddess all of his life not knowing that he had been spellbound. He knows now that she wasn't aware back then of her effect on others, so he let it go and stopped blaming her for wasting his affection and emotion. Life had been kind to him for the most part anyway.

As he was enjoying his leisurely walk though, a commotion of children that sounded like they were fighting reached his ears. He followed the clamor and his feet brought him to the front of a fountain where four little boys were surrounding (and sounds like bullying) a wailing little girl.

"If you really are to inherit the throne, then show us your powers!" Taunted one of the boys.

"How could she? She's not even growing up as fast as us." Declared another.

"Yeah, she must be adopted." Another butted in.

"Or she may not simply have been blessed by the goddess Selene." Said the last one, sounding bored while making something that looks like a crystal made of ice float in thin air. He made several more of the crystals as he directed his other hand towards the waters in the fountain and flicked his wrist and moved his fingers.

The hand movement of the boy had invoked a certain sensitive memory in his head and made him feel irrationally angry. He is conscious though, that he is being unreasonable; for they were, after all, just kids. So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath instead to control his emotions; willing the hurtful memory to fade away.

The sudden shattering of the ice crystals however, made him look up. A streak of pink went past through him and ran towards the person that all the boys were staring currently. "Puu! They were saying all sorts of things about me!" The little girl told the senshi in between sobs. "They were being mean!" She paused to catch her breath. "I am the daughter of the king and queen, right Puu? Tell them Puu!"

That is his niece, he realized, when he saw the senshi he knew to be Sailor Pluto carry the little girl in her arms. "Yes you are princess…" She cooed and placed a hand on the little girl's back. Sailor Pluto then turned and took some steps towards the boys. "I am disappointed. I expected much more from the would be kings of the earth." She had told them and the boys bowed their heads in shame. "Go and tell your parents what you have done. It is up to them to punish you."

With that said and done, the boys disappeared into thin air one by one; leaving him, his niece, and the senshi of time, alone.

"Small Lady, I want you to meet your uncle." The senshi had said, placing the little girl down and making introductions.

Shingo smiled, as his niece took her first tentative steps towards him. He felt happy and full of joy when the little girl had finally reached him. He bent down to give her the first hug of many more he will give to her. "Chibiusa…" He muttered silently, remembering the little girl a thousand years before who introduced herself then as his cousin.

A few minutes passed, before Sailor Pluto came near them two to take the princess with her. "Shouldn't you be somewhere else your majesty?" She asked.

"Is it time?" He asked. "Endymion-sama advised me to stay away a bit, before she use her power on me." He smiled weakly, showing the senshi his vulnerability.

The senshi of Pluto laughed a little with their exchange. "We have exactly twelve minutes and seven seconds to get there."

* * *

Shingo could not hear her scream, for he was not allowed inside the delivery room for his own safety. He was told that the senshis release outburst of their powers when they are in extreme pain while giving birth. Unluckily for him, that means fatal energies coming from his wife that the queen herself was present inside the delivery room to shield even the senshi doctor from sure death.

All the lights have seemed to been put out for a little while, surprising everyone and causing everyone to be blinded momentarily by the very bright light that followed; the senshi of death and rebirth indeed he was thinking… He blinked several times and saw that everyone else was now looking at the viewing window. He looked down at his watch, exactly twelve minutes and seven seconds had passed since Sailor Pluto fetched him.

Lady Mercury lifted his crying, new born and then swaddled her. A bright symbol can be seen shining on the infant's forehead even from afar. The doctor then placed the baby atop her mother's chest and helped her friend to a better position.

* * *

When his wife and child had been transferred already to a private room, Endymion then allowed him to go near. She's sedated, he was reassured, so if there were still any fluctuations in her power left, it won't kill him.

He smiled at the scene in front of him. His child is hungrily sucking on her mother's breast, a good indication that the child is healthy and that there were no complications. "Hey…" He greeted, as he pulled a chair near the bed and sat beside his new family.

Hotaru, looking weak, with her hair plastered to her face with sweat, smiled at him as answer.

He stretched up a little to take a good look at his daughter. He knows he is biased, but he thinks that she is the most beautiful girl he had ever seen with her dark brown hair and chubby pinkish white cheeks. "She is so beautiful…" He said as he caressed those silky skins. "So beautiful…" He repeated and his wife knew then that he was again captivated.

"Yes, she is…" Hotaru agreed in a very weak voice.

Shingo can't help the smile that made itself permanent on his face. He could smell the dried blood from his wife but it didn't repel him in the very least. He drew close and kissed Hotaru on her forehead. "Thank you for saving me. I love you very much." He said.

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 **A/N:** hayyyy.. I just now realized that I didn't post the final chapter of this long finished story. I'm so sorry for that.

Anyway, I'm still alive, so yeah, still writing, even if I'm really busy with my job.. So sorry again if I'm not updating as frequently as before.


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